Folding ironing board and cabinet



Aug. 20, 1968 o. H. TOPLIFFE FOLDING IRONING BOARD AND CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 25, 1965 INVENTOR Doris H Top/iffe Aug. 1968 D, H. TOPLIFFE 3,397,472

FOLDING IRONING BOARD AND CABINET Filed NOV. 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR' Doris H. Top/iffe United States Patent 3,397,472 FOLDING IRONING BOARD AND CABINET Doris H. Toplitie, 1710 Brookside Terrace, Tacoma, Wash. 98465 Filed Nov. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 509,292 6 Claims. (Cl. 38104) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ironing board assembly, inclusive of a storage cabinet and a steam generating unit, is mounted for standing or sitting height utilization and for vertical storage within the cabinet. Pivoting from a vertical to a horizontal position is possible as the board is ball mounted on a spring biased collar support while it is confined within a hollow capped column. Lowering of the board while in its horizontal position occurs as its ball and collar support is lowered against the force of a spring within the column. The board is held in one of several locations along this capped column where arms on the collar are rotated into notches offset from opposite continuous vertical slots formed in the hollow capped column. Conduits, some rigid, some flexible, serve when rigid as supports of the board and steam equipment in its attachment to the mounting ball as well as carrying steam and water, and when flexible, as connecting drain lines extending from the rotatable b'all mounting of the steaming ironing board and beyond down through the capped hollow column to a rigid permanent dwelling drain line.

This invention relates to ironing boards, and more particularly to an ironing board that folds into a cabinet which is preferably built into a kitchen or some similar room since the invention is primarily intended for use in the home, although it is not to be limited to such use as it can be adapted for use in commercial institutions.

This invention is an improvement of my invention described and claimed in my pending patent application entitled A Steam Ironing Board, Ser. No. 401,134, filed Oct. 2, 1964, the difference between this and the previously filed application being in certain details of construction as will be hereinafter understood as the description of this invention proceeds.

The principal object of this invention of a folding ironing board to be used while at selective horizontal heights while steam is being emitted from it and upon completion of ironing, it is stored vertically in a cabinet.

The invention has mechanism that is interchangeable with the mechanism in the above noted pending application for grant of Letters Patent.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a folding ironing board and cabinet that can be made from an existing ironing board and easily obtainable mechanical parts that are either already in mass production, or which can be mass-produced in a minimum of time and with a minimum amount of equipment.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent as the description of the invention is read and the appended drawings examined in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the ironing board folded in its cabinet with the door of the cabinet open.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of this invention taken along line 2--2 of FIGURE 1 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows. The dash lines indicate the horizontal position of the ironing board.

FIG. 3 is a pictorial view of that detail of this invention indicated by the arrowed line and numeral 3 on FIGURE 4.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of this invention taken along line 44 of FIGURE 1 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the rear end of the ironing board and its supporting steam tank.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of this invention taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Looking now at the drawings, and particularly at FIG. 1, it will be seen that this invention consists of an ironing board 10 that has the configuration of an isosceles triangle when viewed from the top or bottom and which has a rounded apex 11. The Wide end of the aforesaid ironing board 10 has its underside resting on and secured to the top of the rectangular steam chamber 12. In FIG. 5 of the drawings it will be seen that steam chamber 12 is provided with an internally located separating plate 13 having a plurality of openings 14 therein. A plastic interliner 15 has a convex bottom 16 resting on the Belleville spring plate 17 that is provided with a centrally located and downwardly extending pointed member 18 and is the water level control, which when water reaches a predetermined level depresses convex interliner and Bellevillespring plate 17 with the downwardly pointed member closing off water supply and as water recedes in boiler causes liner to rise allowing water to flow into boiler maintaining a constant water level.

The principal supporting assembly for the ironing board comprises a vertically disposed hollow standard or column 19 that is secured to the inside of the floor 20 of the rectangular cabinet 21. As shown in FIGURE 4, a coil spring 22 is within hollow standard 19 secured at its bottom to a rigid permanent dwelling drain line 24 and at its top to a collar 27 upon which a bearing-mounting ball 23 is positioned. The ironing board 10 and steam chamber 12 are secured to ball 23 by utilizing the strength of the rigid liquid and/or steam lines 29, 30 and 32. A helical vinyl or rubber coated hollow tube 22 with coil spring 22 which is shown only in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, has its upper end terminating in a smooth end at bearingmountin-g ball 23. The lower end of the aforesaid hollow coiled tube 22' is connected to rigid permanent dwelling drain line 24. As shown in FIGURE 4, bearing-mounting ball 23 has two internal passageways. In the boards vertical position, passageway 33 receives an extension of rigid drain pipe 32 which as noted before is also used structurally to connect the board 10 and boiler 12 assembly to bearing-mounting ball 23. In this vertical position, water drains through pipe 32, tube 22' and drain 24. When, however, board 10 is being used in its horizontal position, passageway 33 is blocked by capped column 19. Therefore, the initially blocked offset passageway 34 is provided, which upon rotation of bearing-mounting ball 23, becomes aligned with the top of tube 22 and water continues to drain through pipe 32, of commencement of passageway 33, offset passageway 34, tube 22" and drain 24.

As noted in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, the hollow capped column or standard 19 is provided with two radially and equally spaced vertically disposed slots or recesses 25 that have a plurality of equally spaced U-shaped notches or recesses 26 extending horizontally from each side thereof in order to receive and hold the two horizontally disposed arms of the collar 27 shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIGURE 4, collar 27 is secured to the upper end of the aforesaid coiled compression spring 22 and directly under the hollow ball 23.

A supporting bracket 28 for the ironing board 10 when it is placed in a horizontal position for ironing is made as an otfiset extension of one arm of collar 27, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. For clarity purposes of showing the collar 27, its connecting arm 35 of collar 27, which continues on to become supporting bracket 28, is shown only in part being sectioned where it is offset. The other arm 36' is extended as a hand grip, which is used during raising and lowering of the board 10.

The water intake pipe 29 and the drain pipe 30 are also shown in the drawings; however, this part of the invention along with the steam supply unit, is actually a part of the previously mentioned US. patent application, Ser. No. 401,134, as this invention is mainly that of the already described supporting mechanism of the ironing board.

It is clear from reading this specification and examining the drawings that there is herein provided a simplified folding ironing board and cabinet that is supported by the vertically disposed hollow standard 19 and its related mechanism in a way that will permit one to adjust the height of the ironing board merely by choosing the right recesses 26 in which to place the arms of the collar 27 when the arms are rotated horizontally out of the vertically disposed recesses 25. To illustrate one possible lower horizontal position of the ironing board 10 which is then supported both on bracket 28 and by rigid line 32, ball 23 and collar 27, the arms of the collar 27 are shown in a lowered position by means of dash lines in FIG. 4 of the drawings. When the ironing board 10' is folded into the vertical position shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawings, then the cabinet door 31 may of course be closed.

Having now described this invention and the manner in which it is used, I want it to be understood that changes and modifications may be made in the mechanism thereof in so long as they fall within the scope and intent of the appended claims.

What I now claim as new is:

1. A folding ironing board and cabinet comprising a vertically elongated rectangular cabinet, having an open side, an elongated door hinged to said open side for closing the same, a hollow tubular standard secured at one end to the bottom of the cabinet and extending upward, the standard having diametrically opposed vertically disposed recesses extending downward from the upper edge thereof, each recess in turn being provided with a plurality of equally spaced U-shaped recesses extending horizontally from each side thereof, a coiled spring slidable within said standard supporting a collar fitting within said standard, horizontally disposed arms extending outwardly from opposite sides of said collar, each arm extending through a corresponding recess, a ball having passageways and fitting the interior of said standard and resting on said collar, an ironing board and a rigid structural drain tube connecting said ball and one end of said ironing board.

2. A folding ironing board and cabinet of claim 1, including a unit consisting of a steam chamber and plastic lined boiler, said lining being convex at the bottom and resting on a Belleville spring plate that is provided with a centrally located downwardly extending pointed memberconnected to a water supply for water level control, this unit being secured to the lower side of said ironing board and another rigid structural drain connection between the interior of said tube and interior of said boiler for draining of water to the said ball.

3. A folding ironing board and cabinet according to claim 2, including a vinyl coated non rigid helical drain tube extending vertically through said standard from a position within the said collar directly adjacent to said ball, down to the bottom of said standard.

4. A folding ironing board and cabinet according to claim 3, including two horizontally disposed arms extending outwardly from the collar through one of said elongated recesses thereby providing a support for the ironing board when the ironing board is placed in a horizontal position for ironing.

-5. An ironer and steam generator for vertical storage and various horizontal operating positions, comprising:

(a) an ironing board and attached steam generating equipment;

(b) rigid structural tubes secured to the ironing board and its steam generating equipment to deliver water to it and receive water from it, and with respect to the tubes receiving water from it, serving as commencing structural support members for the board and the steam generating equipment;

(0) a bearing-mounting ball, also having water passageways through it, secured to said tubes receiving water from the ironing board and from the steam generating equipment;

((1) a hollow capped column to rotatably and slidably receive the bearing-mounting ball and equipped with vertical slots having horizontal notches at ditferent elevations;

(e) a collar slidably fitted within the hollow capped column to contact the bearing-mounting ball from below and having arms extending outwardly through the vertical slots for selective positioning in the horizontal slots of the column;

(f) a coiled spring slidably positioned within the column and adapted to be secured near the bottom of the column to a non moving structure and contacting the collar above it, always tending to raise the collar and consequently also the bearing-mounting ball to the top of the column; and

(g) a flexible water drain means positioned Within the column extending from the bearing-mounting ball to the bottom of the column to receive drain water from the passageways of the bearing mounting ball and discharge this drain water at the base of the column.

6. An ironing board having steam generating equipment, as claimed in claim 5, wherein the said collar has one arm used as a hand grip and the other arm is extended as a support to receive the steam generating equipment and consequently also the ironing board when the board is rotated into a horizontal position by utilizing rotation of the bearing-mounting ball within the capped column.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,427,474 9/ 1947 Purpura 38104 2,499,455 3/1950 Broch-u 38104 X 2,606,275 8/1952 Jac-owitz 38104 3,029,535 4/1962 Clearman et al. 3814 3,203,122 8/1965 Sweatt 38-404 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

